This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Facebook to track what users do on other sites

Facebook will soon start tracking what users in the U.S. do not just on Facebook but also on other websites and apps to more effectively target them with ads.

Facebook's "Trending World Cup" special feature: The company will soon start tracking what users do on other websites to more effectively target them with ads.
(Uncredited / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

By Los Angeles Times

Fri., June 13, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO —Facebook Inc. will soon start tracking what users in the U.S. do not just on Facebook but also on other websites and apps to more effectively target them with ads.

The practice is common —even for some ad networks Facebook partners with —but the social network had previously based its ads mainly on what people did on Facebook, such as what pages they liked.

Users “want to see ads that are more relevant to their interests,” Facebook said in an announcement about the changes.

For those weary of Facebook analyzing even more about their online behavior, the company offered this: “If you don’t want us to use the websites and apps you use to show you more relevant ads, we won’t. You can opt out.”

The company noted that this kind of tracking was common at other companies. But Facebook claims it’s going to do something other companies don’t: allow users to see exactly why a targeted ad was displayed to them.

Article Continued Below

They can then add or remove interests that Facebook is basing its selection of ads on. “So if you’re not interested in electronics, you can remove electronics from your ad interests,” the company said.

The move is aimed at boosting advertising revenue, allowing Facebook to argue that its knowledge about users is richer, and that it has buy-in from the users themselves, with a say over what kind of products they want to be pitched.

Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, expressed “serious concerns” about the changes.

“Providing further info on why a user is being targeted is insufficient,” he said.

Facebook plans to roll out the changes for U.S. users in the next few weeks and is ramping up to make similar changes around the world in the coming months.

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com